Senator Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are barnstorming the country on what they are calling the “Fighting Oligarchy Tour.” The Vermonter took a break from speechifying against President Trump and Elon Musk (the pair is expected to draw 20,000 supporters at Denver tonight) to outline to the Times his own intention to “rally people to get engaged in the political process and run as independents outside of the Democratic Party.” 

So stunning was this suggestion that the Times headlined the conversation as “Bernie Sanders Has an Idea for the Left: Don’t Run as Democrats.” The socialist, famously an Independent, sees defections from the Democrats as the path to “defeat Trumpism and we can transform the political situation in America.” Mr. Sanders, who mounted two robust runs for the Democratic nomination for president, now counsels abandoning the party.